He also resigned from the film policy panel, after director Vinayan accused him of adopting unethical practices.
Published Sep 13, 2024 | 5:00 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 13, 2024 | 5:00 PM
B Unnikrishnan raps Justice Hema Committee for not consulting organisations other than WCC. (Supplied)
Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) general secretary B Unnikrishnan on Thursday, 12 September, questioned the Justice K Hema Committee, regarding their selection of individuals for the report.
He alleged that the committee did not consult any organisations other than the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to gather information regarding the issues of people working in Malayalam cinema.
In a stern voice, he asked why the committee avoided contacting the members from the producers’ association, AMMA, and FEFKA.
“The committee did not even meet with the general secretaries of FEFKA’s trade unions. The names mentioned in the Justice K Hema Committee Report, including those of the alleged 15-member ‘power group’, should be disclosed,” Unnikrishnan demanded.
Further, he alleged that the claims of a “power group” and “mafia” are fabrications by some witnesses and not feasible within the movie industry.
B Unnikrishnan refused that there are any ongoing issues with the casting process, “the movie audition process is managed by the organisations.” He noted that two sexual harassment complaints had been received and resolved.
During the media address, B Unnikrishnan also announced that the FEFKA bylaws have been changed raising the age limit for make-up artists to 35 years and increasing women’s representation to 20 percent.
Refuting the claims of women actors getting less work, especially the WCC members, B Unnikrishnan cited examples of Parvathy Thiruvothu and Rima Kallingal.
“Parvathy acted in 11 films before the formation of WCC, and she acted in 11 films after WCC came into being. She wasn’t available when a few directors approached her for their projects.”
Unnikrishnan added, “Rima Kallingal has acted in a movie directed by Sajin Babu, a member of the FEFKA director’s union.”
In another shocking move, B Unnikrishnan announced that he had resigned from the film policy panel formed by the state government.
B Unnikrishnan said that he had submitted his resignation on 8 September to the Cultural Department. The news of his resignation came in the wake of the demand from director Vinayan to remove him from the panel for his alleged unethical practices in the field of cinema.
On Thursday, 12 September, Vinayan approached the Kerala High Court challenging Unnikrishnan’s inclusion in the panel saying that it violated the neutrality of the panel.
However, Unnikrishnan said he had submitted the resignation letter requesting the government to remove him from the panel on 8 September itself, when the panel sat for their last sitting.
Meanwhile, the WCC members met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently and asked the government to protect the privacy of the women who gave statements, “the confidentiality of their statements is very important.”
“We explored the possibility of arranging legal aid and counselling to support the women who testified in the Hema Committee,” WCC said.
“We then talked about the need to improve the implementation of the Internal Committee (IC) under the POSH Act both practically and qualitatively. WCC also pointed out the possibility of including the Department of Women and Child Welfare in IC-related issues in cinema, as in other workplaces, and the need to reorganize the IC Monitoring Committee in such a way that it receives serious attention from the government, and the need to provide proper awareness about the IC,” WCC said in their social media post.
“We have asked that the Hema Committee’s suggestions must be included in the film policy. A copy of the proposals prepared by the WCC for inclusion in the Cinema Policy as per the request of the Department of Culture in 2021 has been given along with the letter. We stressed the need to give equal space to the views and ideas of women in policy-making,” it said.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
